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Duke's Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Excellence, Diversity, and Inclusion

A statement by the faculty, Provost, and President

To achieve our mission and meet the needs of a rapidly changing world, Duke strives to create a climate of collaboration, creativity, and innovation within and across disciplines. Our success depends upon the robust exchange of ideas – an exchange that flourishes best when the rich diversity of human knowledge, perspectives, and experiences is heard. We nonetheless acknowledge that our policies and practices have often failed to ensure equality of participation within our community. Our renewed commitment and responsibility to one another is articulated in the following statement.

Duke University Community Commitment

Because diversity is essential to fulfilling the university’s mission,Duke is committed to building an inclusive and diverse university community. Every student, faculty, and staff member —whatever their race, gender, age, ethnicity, cultural heritage or nationality; religious or political beliefs; sexual orientation or gender identity; or socioeconomic, veteran or ability status—has the right to inclusion, respect, agency and voice in the Duke community. Further, all members of the University community have a responsibility to uphold these values and actively foster full participation in university life.

Duke has ongoing efforts to strengthen and deepen the university’s ability to foster and support a diverse and inclusive community. A comprehensive list of these activities will be featured soon at this site, but current examples include:

Faculty Diversity Task Force

In 2014 the Academic Council appointed a Diversity Task Force (DTF) that completed its work in 2015 with a report and recommendations for the next decade of Duke’s efforts related to faculty diversity. To act upon the DTF recommendation, in 2015 the Provost created the Faculty Diversity Task Force Implementation Committee. Links to both reports are below.

Community Standard

Duke has a longstanding community standard, which all students sign and pledge to keep. Duke University is a community dedicated to scholarship, leadership, and service and to the principles of honesty, fairness, respect, and accountability.

Town Hall with University Leadership

Programs and Centers

Office of Student Affairs
Duke’s Office of Student Affairs serves all students — undergraduate, graduate and professional — enhancing Duke’s academic excellence with a broad set of experiences and services designed to help all students succeed at Duke, and in life.

Bias Response Advisory Committee
Duke Student Affairs established a Bias Response Advisory Committee to advise the Vice President for Student Affairs on allegations of bias-related incidents that may impact the Duke community.

Center for Jewish Life at Duke
The Freeman Center for Jewish Life serves as a home away from home for all those seeking to engage with the Jewish community while at Duke.

Center for Muslim Life at Duke
Muslim Life at Duke is committed to enriching the lives of Muslim students and the whole campus through events and activities that cater to the spiritual, social and intellectual needs of Duke students.

Center for Multicultural Affairs
The Center for Multicultural Affairs (CMA) empowers students and their organizations to create a vibrant and inclusive multicultural student community.

Duke University International House
The International House provides educational services and advocacy to the international population at Duke as well as outreach to the Durham community, offering extensive cross-cultural programming and information to enhance the global mission of the university.

Duke Women’s Center
The Duke University Women’s Center is dedicated to educating and empowering women at Duke to be active and engaged citizens of the world, welcoming men and women alike who are committed to gender equity and social change. The Women’s Center offers a wide range of programs and activities ranging from entrepreneurship and networking to confidential crisis support for people of all genders who are survivors of gender violence.

Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture
The Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture strives to promote racial understanding, build community, and foster an appreciation for and increase knowledge of Black people, Black history, Black culture, and the vast contributions of people of the African Diaspora. The Center provides programs and services which contribute to the successful academic and personal development of Black students at Duke University and positively impact the lives of all those whom they encounter.

Office of Institutional Equity
The Office for Institutional Equity provides institutional leadership in enhancing respectful, diverse and inclusive work and learning environments for the Duke Community.